Circulation Commands

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Table of Contents

Title	Cmd	Function
Add Note to the Transaction Log	#	Adds a note to the Transaction Log.
Add/Show Copy Alert	!!	Displays all notes for the current copy, or adds a note to Copy Alert Notes.
Add/Show Copy Note	++	Displays all notes for the current copy, or adds a note to Copy Notes.
Add/Show Patron Alert Notes	!	Displays all notes for the current patron, or adds a note to Patron Alert Notes.
Add/Show Patron Note	+	Displays notes for the current patron, or adds a note to Patron General Notes.
Archived Copies	6	Archives certain items to make them unavailable to patrons.
Assign Keywords	V	Assigns keywords to items in your collection.
Bookdrop Mode	B	Starts Bookdrop mode, during which all item barcodes scanned are checked in if they are checked out, or inventoried if they’re already checked in.
Change Barcode Number	/	Change an item or patron barcode.
Change Circulation Group	CN	Starts Change Circulation Group mode for the selected Circulation Group. A Circulation Group that has been assigned to a copy will be removed when the copy is checked back in.Circulation Groups have been temporarily restored but will be moving to Textbook Tracker only soon.
Change Condition Mode	CL	Enters Change Condition mode for the specified condition.
Change Destination Mode	NT	Enters Change Destination mode for the selected site, to change the destination of items that are In Transit.
Change Item Policies	UI	Starts Change Item Policy mode for the selected policy, allowing you to change policies for multiple items.
Change Patron Policies	UP	Enters the Change Patron Policy mode for the selected policy. This allows you to quickly change policies for multiple patrons.
Charge a Fee	FFF	Opens the Charges subtab, or adds a charge to the current patron.Opens the Payments subtab.
Charge Damage Fee	DL	Logs damage on the current copy and charges the current patron, according to the chosen Damage Code.
Check Out	...	Sets Check Out mode.Sets Check Out mode without clearing override dates.
Clear Due Date	.	Clears the Override Date and any special modes, and returns to Check Out mode.
Clear Transaction Log	Z	Clears the Transaction Log in the Circulation display. There is no ”Undo“ for this command so use it with caution.
Details or Copy List, Patron/Item	Q	Displays the details for the specific patron or Copy List for the specific item.
Discard Mode	DM	Starts Discard Mode to discard items for the selected reason.
Discarded Copies	2	Allows you to maintain a record of discarded items for statistical purposes, without allowing them to circulate. You can remove Discarded Copies with a utility.
Email Patron Details	QN	Opens the Email Patron Details dialog for the specified patron. If no barcode is given, the Current Patron is selected.
Enter a Range of Barcodes	RG	Brings up the Barcode Range window which will allow you to enter a range of barcodes to process in the current mode.
Find Item by Author	A	Displays a list of titles by author. Pick the title you want from the list, and the first copy is made the Current Item.
Find Item by Call Number	C	Displays a list of titles by call number. Pick the title you want from the list, and the first copy is made the Current Item.
Find Item by Title	T	Displays a list of titles. Pick the title you want from the list, and the first copy is made the Current Item.
Hold Copy	HC	Starts Hold Copy mode. Use this mode to place a Hold Request on a particular copy of a title for the current patron.
Hold Request	H	Starts Hold mode. Scanning items in Hold mode places a hold on the title for the current patron. A title is identified by using the barcode of any copy, and the first available copy is assigned to the next patron in the hold request queue.
Import Transaction Scripts	*	Circulation script imports are now triggered by dropping an import script in the Circulation Window.
In Processing	7	Check out items to the In Processing Patron (barcode 7) while they are being processed and are not yet available for checkout.
In Transit Mode	IT	Enters In Transit mode for the selected site, with an optional note. In Transit is used when sending materials to different sites. Note that to send an item to its home library you can check it out to the In Transit patron (9).
In Transit Patron	9	Check out items to the In Transit System Patron to place them in transit to their home library (or whichever library is specified for the copy in the Copy Site field).
Inventory	I	Starts Inventory mode with today’s date. In Inventory mode, all item barcodes scanned are recorded as inventoried as of the date specified in the inventory command, or the current date if no date is specified.
Inventory Bookdrop Suppressed	IBS	Starts Inventory mode for the current date with automatic bookdrop and with dialogs suppressed. This mode is the same as Inventory Bookdrop mode (IB command), except that dialogs are suppressed. This mode can be used when you are performing inventory with a wireless scanner or in a similar situation.
Inventory Suppressed	IS	Starts Inventory Suppressed mode for the current date. This mode is the same as Inventory mode (I command), except that dialogs are suppressed. This mode can be used when you are performing inventory with a wireless scanner or in a similar situation.
Inventory with Bookdrop	IB	Starts Inventory mode for the current date with automatic Bookdrop. During Inventory Bookdrop, all item barcodes scanned are recorded as inventoried as of the date specified in the inventory command, or the current date if no date is specified. If the item is checked out, it is automatically checked in.
Issue Routing Slip	M	Issues a routing slip for any item in the collection. If you enter M alone or with a partial route name, Alexandria will present you with a list of routes from which you may select the desired route.
Item Reservations Check Out	GG	Starts Item Reservation Check Out mode, a special mode of operation used for checking out items with reservations.
Library Use	3	Check out items to the For Library Use System Patron (barcode 3) if those items are to be used within the library.
Locate Patron	L	Locate a patron by name. You can specify as much of the first or last name as you want and Alexandria will display a list of names close to the name you specified.
Lost Copies	1	The Lost Copies System Patron (barcode 1) allows you to maintain a record of lost items for statistical purposes, without allowing them to circulate. You can remove Lost Copies with a utility.
Make Patron or Item Current	X	Clears the Current Patron and Current Item panes.
On Order	5	Check out items to the On Order System Patron if those items are ordered but not yet arrived. This allows patrons to see those items in your catalog and place holds, but not check them out.
On Repair	4	Check out items to the On Repair System Patron if those items are being repaired. This allows patrons to see those items in your catalog and place holds as usual, but not check them out.
Overnight Check Out	O	Performs overnight check out for the specified item. This command works exactly the same way as a normal checkout, but the due date is set for the next day.
Patron Reservations Check Out	GPP	Starts Patron Reservation Check Out mode, a special mode of operation used for checking out items with reservations.
Patron Tab	HW	Opens the subtab in the Circulation window.
Print Patron Details	QP	Prints Patron Details for the specified patron. If no barcode is given, the Current Patron is selected.
Print Transactions	D	Prints a transaction receipt for the Current Patron.
Receive Subscriptions	E	Brings up a list of your subscriptions so you can quickly record that a subscription has been received.
Renew All Items	RA	Renews all copies checked out to the Current Patron.
Renew Items	R	Enters Renewal mode. Use Renewal mode to renew multiple checked-out items. If an item isn”t checked out, this command does nothing.
Replace Copy Alert Notes	!!#	Clears the alert notes of the current copy, or replaces them with a new note.
Replace Copy Notes	++#	Clears the General Notes of the current copy, or replaces them with a new note.
Replace Patron Alert Notes	!#	Clears the alert notes of the current patron, or replaces them with a new note.
Replace Patron Notes	+#	Clears the General Notes of the current patron, or replaces them with a new note.
Reservation	G	Enters Reservations mode to place reservations on multiple items for the current patron.
Reservation by Patron	GP	Starts Reservation by Patron mode. Each patron barcode you enter will display the reservation calendar to place a reservation on the current item.
Reservation for a Specific Copy	GB	Places a reservation for the current patron on the specified copy, for the specified date. You may also use  GB=  to specify the current copy.
Reservation for Any Copy	GA	Places a reservation for the current patron on any available copy of the title, for the specified date. You may also use  GA=  to specify the current item.
Reserve	J	Enters Reserve mode. Items on reserve can”t be used by other patrons.
Series	S	Look up by Series in Circulation (Makeover only).
Same Day Check Out	OS	Performs same-day checkout for the specified item. This is the same as a normal checkout, but the due date is set for today.
Set All Copy Locations	CH	Sets Site, Copy Location, and Copy Shelving for a number of copies.
Set All Patron Locations	PH	Sets Site, Location, and Sublocation for a number of patrons.
Set Circulation Group	CG	Sets the Circulation Group. When you set a Circulation Group, any circulation event is recorded with the Circulation Group specified. You can then base circulation reports on these groups.Circulation Groups have been temporarily restored but will be moving to Textbook Tracker only soon.
Set Current Patron	P	Selects a new Current Patron. Generally, you can just enter the barcode number of a patron, but if for some reason you have patron and item barcodes that are the same this command allows you to specify a patron directly.
Set Due Date	.[date]	Sets an override due date.
Show Command Help	?	Opens the Command Help tab.
Show Items out	QE	Opens the Items out tab.
Start Statistics Mode	Y	Starts Statistics Mode, which is used for recording that items have been ‘checked out’ without actually checking them out.
Transaction Log	TL	Switch to the Transaction Log (Makeover only).
Transfer Mode	.X	Starts Transfer mode.
Unknown Patron	8	Check out items to the Unknown System Patron (barcode 8) if the item has special circumstances or if you don’t know its status.
Validate Patron and Item	VV	Validates the current patron and item.

Add a Note to the Transaction Log (#)

Command: # {comment}

Example: # Fire Drill → Adds the note “Fire Drill” to the Transaction Log.

The # {comment} command allows you to add a comment into the transaction log. For instance, if a student assistant is checking out books, you might want to add a comment such as “Susie is current operator” so that you can determine what she did during the time she was working the circulation desk. If you enter the # command without a comment, nothing will be added to the transaction log.

To add a comment into the Transaction Log:

1. Type, for example, # Susie is currently in charge
2. Press enter. The note “Susie is currently in charge” will be added to the Transaction Log.

Add/Show Copy Alert (!!)

Command: !! {comment}

Example: !! Damaged → Adds the note “Damaged”  to the alert notes for the current copy.

The !! command will open the Alert Notes tab of the Copy Notes window. The Copy Notes window will also open if you click on the Notes button in the bottom of the Current Item / Item Card pane of the Circulation window; the Notes button will appear disabled if there are no notes for the current item.

To show the copy Alert Notes using the !! command:

1. Make the item current.
2. Type !! and your comment (!! Dog chewed 02/02/2015).
3. The Alert Notes for the current copy will be displayed in the Alert Notes tab of the Copy Notes window.

To append the current copy’s Alert Notes using the !! command:

1. Make the item current.
2. Type, for example, !! Dog chewed 2/2/2015.

Add/Show Copy Note (++)

Command: ++ {comment}

The ++ command will open the Copy Notes tab of the Copy Notes window. The Copy Notes window will also open if you click on the Notes button in the bottom of the Current Item / Item Card pane of the Circulation window.

To show the Copy Notes using the ++ command:

1. Make the desired item current.
2. Type ++
3. Press enter.

To append the current copy’s Copy Notes:

1. Make the desired item current.
2. Type, for example: ++ Damaged corner 2/2/2015
3. Press enter.

Add/Show Patron Alert Notes (!)

Command: ! {comment}

The ! command will open the Alert Notes tab of the Patron Notes window. The Patron Notes window will also open if you click on the Notes button in the bottom of the Current Patron / Patron Card pane of the Circulation window.

To view the current patron’s Alert Notes tab:

1. Make the patron current.
2. Type ! <enter></code>.

To append the current patron’s Alert Notes:

1. Make the patron current.
2. Type, for example: ! Left jacket in library 2/3/2015.

Add/Show Patron Notes (+)

Command: + {comment}

The + command will open the General Notes tab of the Notes window. The Notes window will also open if you click on the Notes button at the bottom of the Current Patron / Patron Card pane of the Circulation window.

To show a patron’s General Notes:

1. Make a patron current.
2. Type the + command.
3. press <enter>.

To append a patron’s General Notes:

1. Make a patron current.
2. Type, for example: + former student library aide.
3. Press <enter>.

Archived Copies System Patron (6)

Command: 6

The Archived Copies System Patron (barcode 6) is used to archive certain items and make them unavailable to patrons. For example, issue items to this patron if they are kept in a special room and not generally available for circulation.

To check a book out to Archived Copies System Patron:

1. In Check Out (.) mode, type 6 and press <enter>. The Archived Copies System Patron will become the current patron.
2. Scan (or type) the barcode of items you want archived. Remember to press <enter> after each barcode if you are typing the barcode (this is not necessary when scanning).

Assign Keywords

Command: V { A, B, C, E, G, I, S, R, P, T, or H } { keyword / classification type }

Use this command to quickly add searchable terms to the copies that you scan.

Let’s say you want to create a reading list on Olympic skiing. You would enter the command “V B Olympic Skiing” in the command line and press <enter>. Alexandria will display B* Olympic Skiing to the left of the command line. Every copy you scan (or enter) while in the Assign Keywords (V) mode would have the bibliographic keyword “Olympic Skiing” assigned to their title record. To end the Assign Keywords (V) mode, enter the “ . ” command in the command line. Once an item is classified, it can be searched for using the Researcher.

If you would like to delete searchable classifications from item records, you may do so one at a time from the Bibliographic Term, Curriculum Term, and Interest Term fields located under the Terms subtab of the Title Information tab of the Items Management window.

You can further delete, examine, and manipulate keywords en masse using the Item Catalog utilities found under the Catalog subtab of the Titles tab of the main Utilities window.

Valid types include:

A	Awards Notes	586_a
B	Bibliography	653_a
C	Curriculum	658_a
E	Series	830_a
E _v	Series and Volume	830_v
G	Genre	655_a
I	Interest / Reading Code	521_a
S	Subject	650_a
R	Study Program	526_a
P	Point Count	526_d
T	Test Number	526_z
H	Holding Code	526_5

Bookdrop Mode (B)

Command: B {optional barcode}

Use the bookdrop command to check in items for one or for many patrons. In Bookdrop mode, all the copy barcodes you scan (or enter) are checked in. This allows you to check in a large number of books without worrying about patron barcodes. For example, this mode provides a quick way to check in the large number of books returned at the end of the hour, day, week, month, or year.

While in Bookdrop mode, Alexandria assumes you are only checking items in. If you type or scan a barcode for an item that is not already checked out, an error message will appear in the transaction log. If a patron barcode is scanned while in Bookdrop mode, as long as there is no copy with the same barcode, Alexandria will automatically change to Check Out (.) mode and make the scanned patron current.

Change Barcode Number (/)

Command: /{oldbarcode}={newbarcode}

Use the “ / ” command to quickly change barcode numbers for patrons or copies in the Circulation window during any circulation Mode. For example, you can change barcode numbers as you are checking copies out, while you are performing inventory, making a bookdrop, or other commands. The “ / ” command will update all references to the old copy barcode number and then enter the new copy barcode number you specified into the command line. This means you can change your copy barcode numbers and then continue with the activities you were performing.

For instance, suppose you are checking in copies and come across one with barcode number 3009, but the barcode label is damaged. You can place a new barcode label on the copy with the barcode number of 9000. To do this, while still in Bookdrop (B) mode, type “/3009=9000” in the command line and press <enter>. Alexandria then changes barcode 3009 to 9000 and enters 9000 into the command line, which will check the book in.

Please keep in mind that you cannot perform the Change Barcode Number command in combination with any other commands. For example, typing “H/3009=9000” in an attempt to place a hold and change the barcode number will not be recognized as a known command. However, you can be in Hold (H) mode and type “/3009=9000” in the command line to change a copy barcode number.

Example: /10029=19929 → Takes the copy of barcode 10029 and assigns it the new barcode of 19929.

To change a patron or copy barcode from the Circulation window:

1. Type “ / ” {oldbarcode}={newbarcode} in the command line (e.g. “/3252=4344”).
2. Press <enter>.

This will change current patron and copy records and will change all outstanding transactions. However, it will not change any historic transactions, which will retain their previous barcode numbers.

Change Circulation Group (CN)

Command: CN

Enters Change Circulation Group Mode for the specified Circulation Group. This mode changes the Circulation Groups for copies that already have been checked with a Circulation Group. A Circulation Group that has been assigned to a copy will be removed when the copy is checked back in. To exit this mode, type a period ‘.’ and press the enter or return key.

Example: CN Main → Changes the Circulation Group for any scanned copies to “Main”.

Change Condition Mode (CL)

Enters Change Condition Mode for the specified condition.

Example:

• CL → Shows a list of condition codes.
• CL1 → Enters Change Condition Mode for the specified condition. To exit this mode, type a period ‘.’ and press the enter or return key.

Change Destination Mode (NT)

Command: NT

Use the Change Destination (NT) mode to change the destination of copies whose Change Status is currently In Transit to something else. Type “NT” and and press <enter> to initiate Change Destination Mode (NT) mode; alternately, you can select Change Destination Mode (NT) from the Circulation Mode drop-down menu located to the left of the command line.

To change the destination of copies that are currently In Transit:

1. Type NT into the command line and press <enter>. The Select a Destination window will appear.
2. Select (highlight) a new destination from the list or provide a new library Copy Site code; only libraries that match those existing in your collection’s Copy Site field(s) will populate this list.
3. Press OK to proceed or Cancel to close the Select a Destination window.
4. Scan (or type) the barcode numbers of copies to be redirected to the new destination.
5. Type “ . ” and press <enter> to exit the Change Destination (NT) mode and change to Check Out (.) mode.

OR

1. Type NT {library} into the command line (e.g. NT EAS) and press <enter>.
2. Scan (or type) the barcode numbers of copies to be redirected to the new destination.
3. Type “ . ” and press <enter> to exit the Change Destination (NT) mode and change to Check Out (.) mode.